A collection of sources has been gathered as a place for you to start your research on immigration in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century. You will find a great discussion on the topic at the top of the page that is followed by an interactive list of research topics that takes you directly to the recommended sources. This is followed by a full list of topics presented in alphabetical order and a list of external resources that includes descriptions as well as links. http://teacher.scholastic.com
The great wave of immigration from 1880 to 1924 is often discussed in textbooks and includes contribution s made by Jewish immigrants. This collection of sources from Beyond the Textbook describes these contributions and points out that many other elements of the Jewish immigration experience are left out of the textbooks and receive no attention. An essay that can be accessed from the home page discusses the textbook perspective of Jewish immigration during the early twentieth century and specific events and experiences that are left out. A collection o f related primary sources is included as well. http://teachinghistory.org
Visit this website to learn about the history of United States Immigration during specific periods of European Emigration. Explore these four periods of time: 1500-1700, 1700-1800, 1800-1900 and 1900-1940. Each time period contains links to explorers, settlers and more information on life and times of that period. The Statistics section gives information on many different topics. See total immigrants per country, Immigration and Occupations statistics, Immigration and Crime and statistics from many other areas. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
View an exhibit of Irish immigrants in nineteenth century Maine. Maine received many Irish immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century. View photographs and their descriptions in a slide show, as a list, or copy the exhibit to your album. The info link below each photograph contains links to subjects relating to the picture, the approximate year of creation and more. Read about the history of Irish immigrants, their reasons for coming to the United States, and the struggles they faced when they arrived. http://www.mainememory.net
Visit this website to learn about the history of Irish immigration to the United States. Read about the Irish Famine and the dramatic increase in Irish people arriving in the United States during that time. Explore the different types of jobs held by the immigrants. Discover the results of the census carried out in 1850 noting in which states most of the immigrants resided and the reasons behind their choice. Read about several Irish immigrants that made it rich, became politicians, successful war generals or businessmen. View the bottom of the page for letters and writings from Irish settlers. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
A large collection of photographs, documents and publications relating to the social conditions and social life of the people in the United States can be accessed from the Social Museum Collection at Harvard University Libraries. The time frame is 1789-1930 and the focus is on immigrants. You can browse the museum's collection by theme including charity, crime, education, health and housing. You can also browse by geography. A timeline is available with key dates and landmarks in U.S. immigration history. http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu
Like immigrants from other countries, some German immigrants were also fleeing religious and political persecution when they came to America. Learn about a lawyer for gathered German Quaker families together to establish Germantown, a 17th century settlement in America for German immigrants. German Protestants were encouraged to travel to America in the early 18th century but more than half died on the way on overcrowded ships where disease took its toll. A million Germans left their homeland after the German revolution failed. Find out where these immigrants settled and how they influenced politics and business. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
There were many different reasons why people from other countries chose to immigrate to the United States. Some entered, some stayed and some left. The six documents and photographs at this web site each represent a person. These photographs and documents were attached to immigration case files. Your job in this activity is to match the documents and photographs. Be sure to read each person's story in the details section to learn more about these people and the reasons why they came to America. http://docsteach.org
Immigrants from Western Europe were joined by immigrants from Eastern Europe by the 1880s. The earliest Polish immigrants to Ohio worked as day laborers, in quarries, or as strike breakers. Polish immigrants shaped the culture, businesses, churches, and communities of Ohio. Cleveland was home to three Polish communities. The Poles congregated into communities out of shared culture and out of fear toward those who wanted to force American assimilation on them. Several generations passed before Polish immigrants were accepted by other ethnic groups who had been there first. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org
Are you studying Italian immigration to America? The Spartacus Educational web site has some information that will interest you. Learn why Italians immigrated so far from home and what conditions were like for them in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most Italians settled in large cities like New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia. You can read newspaper articles from these cities about life during this period. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
Migration from Europe to the United States started in the 17th century, but most immigrants came to America between 1820 and 1920. Early European immigrants came mostly from northern and western Europe and were often seeking religious freedom. Later immigrants came from southern and western Europe and were fleeing economic and political problems. Learn about Dutch, German, Polish, Austro-Hungarian, Italian, Irish, Scandinavian, and Jewish immigrants. Investigate the difficult voyage, American suspicions about immigrants, and anti-immigrant legislation. Analyze aspirations and motivations for coming to America. Find out how immigrants survived and built ethnic communities. Most never saw their homeland again. http://exhibitions.europeana.eu
Numerous Ohioans are descended from Italian ancestors. Learn about the history of immigrants to Ohio and why Italian immigrants chose to reside there. Discover what type of work over 20,000 Italian immigrants found in Ohio and how they formed their own communities. Read why many native-born Americans feared the Italian immigrants and the hardships they faced because of that fear. Out of all the immigrant groups to settle in Ohio, Italians were the most determined to maintain traditional heritage and beliefs. Explore the different ways they were able to accomplish that goal. Also find out how Italian Americans reacted during World War II. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org
Visit this website to learn about Irish immigrants that came to Ohio in the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Learn why earlier settlers chose Ohio and what type of work they did. Read about the Irish immigrant's struggles they faced from Ohio residents due to religion and the competition for employment. Find information about the Know-Nothing (American) Party, a group that strongly opposed new immigrants. Discover why Irish immigrants tended to establish their own communities. Explore the immigration statistics for Ohio and how they changed at the start of the 1900s. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org
Trace your family's history, or just take a closer look to America's history at this site that allows you to peruse the original passenger lists of the ships that brought more than 22 million people through Ellis Island and the Port of New York. Along with the passenger searches and the Ellis Island files, you can create a family scrapbook or read more about the immigrant experience. http://www.ellisisland.org
This PBS web site compliments the Bill Moyers special Becoming American: The Chinese Experience, which is a documentary that explores the Chinese immigration experience and the lives of Chinese Americans. Read this web site's portraits of a variety of Chinese Americans and eyewitness accounts of the Chinese American experience. The site also offers a time line of Chinese immigration in the United States, a quiz, and a list of related resource http://www.pbs.org
By the end of the 19th century, one in four Chicagoans were first or second generation German immigrants. What was once Chicago's largest ethnic group declined in numbers after World War I as some were reluctant to admit their heritage. German immigrants came from all parts of Germany and from different religions and political ideals. Ethnic neighborhoods and organizations reflected this diversity. Instead, varying degrees of Americanization divided immigrants into generational groups. Many worked as unskilled laborers but some worked as businessmen and skilled craftsmen. German immigrants resented temperance and Sunday closing laws. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org
More Italian Americans have migrated to the United States than any other Europeans. Learn about the reasons they had for leaving Italy which include poverty, over population and natural disasters. Read about the struggles faced by the southern Italians. Learn what the earliest Italian immigrants did for work, here they settled and how they differed from the Irish immigrants of the time. Find out how Italian Americans achieved success in different fields. Learn why historians use the phrase birds of passage to describe immigrants who did not intend to stay in the United States permanently. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu
Enter the Arirang, an interactive classroom on the Korean American experience and discover thought provoking questions that help you understand what it would be like to immigrate to the United States. Through a series of videos and slideshows, you will discover what it was like for Korean immigrants to come to the United States over a century ago, how many reacted to their country's invaders, and what it is like for Korean immigrants and Korean Americans today. An interactive timeline displays the important events in the Korean American experience. http://www.arirangeducation.com
The American Dream was born in the last half of the 19th century when people sought freedom and land. This episode of A History of US discusses life in the United States after the Civil War. Read about immigrants, the American Dream and treatment of immigrants. Learn about homesteaders and land for ten dollars in the West. The history of the Indian Wars and the treatment of Native Americans are discussed. This part of the web site has seven segments. Each includes photographs and fact boxes that introduce various aspects of life in the United States after the Civil War. http://www.pbs.org
Polonia, or Polish Chicago, was shaped by several waves of immigrants. The earliest Polish immigrants were peasants who left Poland due to partitions. Polish immigrants became Chicago's largest immigrant group. Displaced Poles came after World War II as Communism took over Poland. Professionals and intellectuals came to America from Poland in the late 20th century as they fled martial law. Investigate the growth of Chicago's Polish settlement, the role of the church and ethnic organizations in creating community, and the involvement of Polish immigrants in politics. The Poles of Chicago opened schools, published newspapers, and established service and labor organizations. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org
Li Keng Wong was just seven years old when her father moved her family from their small village in China to California in 1933. Li Keng is going to tell you what life was like for her family in China, how they prepared to leave, and what she remembers about Hong Kong. She will also tell you what it was like to arrive at Angel Island and what life was like as a detainee. Li Keng also tells you what her life was like growing up in California and what her life is like now. http://teacher.scholastic.com
Explore this website to learn about the history of international migration to North America. View a description of the migration movement and find out who they were, where they came from and when. Discover the causes and what circumstances hindered or favoured migration. Find out about the short and long term consequences of migration. Learn about the reactions society had to the immigrants and the reactions of immigrants on their new environment. http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl
The experiences of the first Jewish women and their communities who immigrated to the United States are shared in this excellent online exhibit. Discover when the first Jewish women arrived in North America and find out why the experiences of colonial Jewish settlers were easier in many ways than their lives at home. Jewish women who came through Ellis Island are also featured. Find out how women worked to preserve their faith and culture and learn about the beginnings of Jewish women's organizations. This web site includes many primary sources as well as audio clips and video clips. http://jewishwomen.nwhm.exhibitstree.com
Discover how the contributions of German-American immigrants have impacted American culture, work, and play. German newspapers helped shape the freedom of the press. German military officers turned civilian forces into an army capable of defeating the British. German wagons carried pioneers to the West while German engineers built bridges and rifles. Explore the roles of German-Americans in science, finance, baseball, and children's literature. From political cartoons to pianos and photography, German-Americans have shaped music and the arts. http://usa.usembassy.de
For nearly a hundred years in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the United States was the destination for more than half of the world's immigrants. Improved transportation and American expansion fueled the immigration. Immigrants helped the United States expand, the population to grow, and the culture to become more diverse. These immigrants were mostly unskilled laborers and were frequently forced to endure low wages and poor living conditions. Some Americans were opposed to immigration and laws began to restrict certain racial groups as well as sick or poor people. In the 20th century, many illegal immigrants came to America. http://www.factmonster.com
Immigrants came from many continents and islands over several centuries to reach the United States. A poem by Walt Whitman reminds us that each immigrant has the right to be here. This resource studies when and why different groups came to America. Trace their migrations, cultural heritage, and economic experiences. Examine government policies, assimilation, and the immigrants' impact on Native Americans. Use a timeline or interactive map to access information. Investigate how immigrants shaped American English and cuisine. http://www.loc.gov
Although they never had permission to come to the United States, young people who came to the country illegally as kids are getting special permission to stay for two years and apply to stay longer. Many illegal immigrants brought kids with them years ago. These kids didn't make the choice, they were educated in the United States, and some even served in the military. Old immigration laws would send them back to a country where they might not even know the language. President Obama declared an executive action to help these young people so that they wouldn't be deported. http://htekidsnews.com
In the early 16th century, Florida was explored by Ponce de Leon. Cabeza de Vaca explored Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. Coronada explored the Colorado River and de Soto explored the Mississippi River. By the end of the century, Spain has taken over Florida, California, and the American Southwest. About 200 settlements were established including St. Augustine, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. In the 19th century, Spain sold Florida to the United States. With the California Gold Rush, Americans outnumbered Spaniards more than ten to one and took control. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
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http://teachinghistory.org
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http://www.mainememory.net
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http://docsteach.org
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org
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